LEGAL RESEARCH & WRITING FOR NON-LAWYERS LAW 499B Spring Instructor: Professor Jennifer Camero LLM Teaching Fellow: Trygve Meade

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1 LEGAL RESEARCH & WRITING FOR NON-LAWYERS LAW 499B Spring 2014 Instructor: Professor Jennifer Camero LLM Teaching Fellow: Trygve Meade Required Texts: Richard K. Neumann, Jr. and Sheila Simon, Legal Writing (Aspen 2d ed.). Darby Dickerson, ALWD Citation Manual: A Professional System of Citation (Aspen 4th ed.). Kent C. Olson, Principles of Legal Research (West 2010). Course Catalog Description: Law 499B is a continuation of Law 499A and is highly recommended for MLS students. Students learn more advanced research and writing skills. These skills are designed to allow the non-lawyer professional to conduct policy and legal research in a non-legal environment using relatively low cost resources. Regulatory and administrative materials are a focus of enhanced skill development in legal research. Additionally, students are introduced to basic written advocacy and policy. Content and methods of course delivery and evaluation approved for provision by distance education. Course Format This course is an asynchronous distance education course. All instruction and course materials will be delivered online via Desire 2 Learn ( D2L ). To access D2L, go to If you need assistance accessing D2L or have technical difficulties with D2L, please call (618) or mycourse@siu.edu. The benefits of this course format are that it offers flexibility and autonomy to students. However, these benefits make it easy for a student to fall behind. It, therefore, is important to stay organized and keep on schedule with the readings and assignments. You should expect to spend at least the same amount of time you would spend on any three-credit course. Ungraded s and Attendance You will have ungraded assignments throughout the semester that not only provide you an opportunity to practice what you are learning, but also count as attendance for the course. In order to receive credit for these exercises, you must submit them in the Page 1

2 designated D2L Dropbox each week by the appointed time. DO NOT these assignments to me. You will receive no credit if you do not submit the exercise(s) using the Dropbox. Please take these assignments seriously and answer them thoughtfully and thoroughly. I or the course s teaching fellow will provide feedback via D2L on each of these assignments so that you may learn from them prior to submitting graded assignments. Dropbox submissions are due by each Thursday by 11:59 p.m. central. I will not accept submissions submitted after the deadline. In the event that a D2L outage prevents a timely Dropbox submission, please contact me via immediately. Once you receive an from me that D2L has been restored, you must submit your assignment within four hours. If you fail to submit exercises more than two times, you automatically will be withdrawn from the course. Given the flexibility this class provides, there are absolutely no exceptions to this rule (not even for interviews, illness, or a technical issue that is not due to a D2L outage). Graded s: ALWD Exercise 20% Research Exercise 20% Final Appellate Brief 60% In order to receive credit for these exercises, you must submit them in the designated D2L Dropbox each week by the designated time. DO NOT these assignments to me. You will receive no credit if you do not submit the exercise(s) using the Dropbox. These graded assignments are due on or before the Thursday of the week they are assigned by 11:59 p.m. central. In the event that a D2L outage prevents a timely Dropbox submission or a Discussion Board response, please contact me via immediately. Once you receive an from me that D2L has been restored, you must submit your assignment within four hours. I reserve the right to deduct points for any nonconforming assignment or assignment submitted after the due date and time. Honor Code: The Honor Code requires that all students submit their own individual work, unless collaboration is specifically authorized by your professor. Plagiarism, or the submission of someone else s work as your own, is unethical and is in violation of the Honor Code. Furthermore, work done by you for this class, whether graded or ungraded, may not be reviewed by anyone, not even for typographical or grammatical errors, or for clarity. In addition, you may not discuss any assignment, graded or ungraded, with anyone except me, the course s LLM teaching fellow, and the school librarians. Page 2

3 Contact Information: Professor Jennifer Camero Phone: (727) SIU Office: 224 Skype: professorcamero Trygve Meade Phone: (309) Skype: trygvemeade Office Hours Trygve Meade, the course s teaching assistant, will hold virtual office hours on Mondays from 5pm to 7pm and Thursdays from 7pm to 9pm where he will be available to you via phone and Skype. He is also available to chat via phone or Skype at other times by appointment; him to schedule a time. That being said, I do encourage you to submit broad questions using the Questions Discussion Board so that your fellow students may benefit from the exchange. Additionally, I will be on campus at least monthly during the semester. In advance of my visits, I will send an in the event that you would like to make an appointment to see me in person. Style and Format of Writing s: Margins: 1-inch margins on all sides Font: Times New Roman, 14 pt. font Spacing: Double-spaced, except for block quotes and heading of the memo Pagination: Number each page of text, centered in the bottom margin Course Schedule: The Course Schedule is broken down by weekly readings and assignments. References to anything other the Legal Writing, Legal Research or ALWD texts are available on the D2L course site. You are required to perform each week s assignments, which include, but are not limited to, reading from the textbooks, watching a recorded lecture, or reviewing other materials posted to D2L. Students may not distribute, post or reproduce any material posted to D2L via any medium ( , Internet, hardcopy or otherwise) for any purpose or for any reason. Page 3

4 Week of: Ungraded Graded Legal Writing pp ; January 13 Life of a Lawsuit Handout Semester Materials Legal Research pp January 20 Abstract Legal Research pp January 27 Legal Writing pp February 3 Standard of Review Handout Research Plan February 10 ALWD pp ; ; Research Exercise February 17 Legal Writing pp ; ALWD Exercise February 24 Legal Writing pp Draft Proceedings Below March 3 Legal Writing pp Draft Questions Presented March 10 Spring Break - No Lecture or s March 17 Legal Writing pp Draft Statement of the Case Page 4

5 March 24 Legal Writing pp ; Argument Roadmap Handout Draft Point Headings Legal Writing pp March 31 Argument Handout April 7 Summary of the Argument Handout Draft Summary of the Argument April 14 Legal Writing pp ; April 21 Edit and Finalize Brief Brief Page 5